2118 replies to this topic

[Bigfella237]

Now... what's next!?

 

A shortened bracket for the console? Or does it now sit flat on the floor?

[76lxhatch]

Now that's more exciting than the shiny stuff! Or is it just me?

Very nice work Heath, are you going to grind it down (there's a few grams weight saving there!) or leave as is?

[Heath]

Oooops, forgot to clean up the underside of the tunnel too.

 

Had to make a bit of clearance on the new crossmember:

There we go:

 

Definitely needs a spacer which is what I expected. Easy to make up!

[purrlx]

very nice work , coming along

[Heath]

Fired up the die grinder to cut all the casting flash down to a nice shape and sanded it pretty flat. 

 
Thought it was time to make some clearance for the front wheels. As I don't have any samples of the wheels I actually want to run, I once again just used those ugly black 18"s for a mock up. The rolling diameter is massive and I didn't actually get them to fully clear, but when I go down to a tasteful sized wheel... fingers crossed I'll be okay. Also got rid of the pressed recess that's clearly designed for a left hand drive version's wiring loom.




 
Made a new panel to fill the big hole:


 
Inside view:

 
Now I'm working on the driver's side.

[Bigfella237]

Looking good Heath, did you only check for clearance at full suspension droop or at ride height? I would've thought you'd need to go further up the panel with the scallop?

 

I always reckoned the only way to make absolutely sure is drop the spring out and check the full range of movement, but then you'd need the wheel and tyre of your choice fitted plus a rough setup of the camber and castor.

[76lxhatch]

Not really necessary, the only time you get that much lock you're not moving fast enough to get any suspension compression. My ride height seems to centre the wheel about where the floor pan intersects, looks good to me.

[Heath]

I always reckoned the only way to make absolutely sure is drop the spring out and check the full range of movement

 

Yep that is exactly what I did. But without having a perfectly suitable wheel... it ain't a perfect method

 

I'm going to try and extend the wheelbase of this car a fraction also, so that will hopefully make this area of clearance less critical.

Edited by Heath, 24 June 2015 - 07:51 AM.

[Bigfella237]

Great minds think alike, I was gonna modify my k-frame outriggers for header clearance anyway so I hope to push the k-frame as far forward as the top holes will allow (without modifying the chassis), I'm not really trying to extend the wheelbase, just compensate for the added castor and re-centre the wheel in the arch. Plus any way you can move the engine's mass rearward within the overall wheelbase has to be a bonus.

 

I was half-thinking about some kind of fore-aft adjustment on the outriggers but it would have to be strong, I figure they carry a lot of braking force in that direction if nothing else? Maybe something like an eccentric bush?

Edited by Bigfella237, 24 June 2015 - 01:02 PM.

[Heath]

Yeah a piece of ally plate with an eccentric cut into it should be all that is required...

[Heath]

Time for the driver's side.

 

Marked out the shape from the left hand side to mirror it:

Hmmm... wiring recess is obviously in the way

 

All good, that can be moved:

Welded into a new spot, further back:

 

 

Inside view:

[myss427]

With drivers side, check your accelerator travel, found it can reduce with the floor mod.

[Heath]

My accellerator pedal is already modified to sit further away from the corner, and closer to the brake pedal for easier heel-and-toe action, so I should be pretty safe but can easily check that out too! Cheers

[Jay#2]

That's a really neat job, plenty on clearance. Kinda wish I put a bit more effort into mine now.

[Heath]

Since I was kinda working on the front end stuff I decided to draw up some front end spacers to offset the K-frame. It's essentially just a set of holes 10mm eccentric to the spigot that fits through the holes in the bottom of the chassis rails to relocate it.  Half of that will be dialled back out as the castor is adjusted in but castor was gonna happen regardless.

 

First had to remove the standard weird cup thing that is spot welded onto the underside of the rail:

(yes I filled & ground that hole after I took the photo lol)

 

3D Printed my prototype at work and tested it out.

 

Prototype worked well so stepped up the design to clear the shock nut and have less material for those precious grams  This will be milled out of 30mm alloy plate.

 

I'll need to make some round 'caps' and drill an eccentric to hold them in from the top, and make some round bushes with a drilled eccentric for the rear lower mounts under the footwells, but I can do all of that easily on a manual lathe.

Edited by Heath, 17 July 2015 - 10:43 PM.

[76lxhatch]

Neat idea, will be interesting to see how that 10mm suits for wheel clearance front and rear. How drastic are you planning to go with caster?

[Bigfella237]

Nice work H, I would love a 3D printer but I'd end up with even more useless junk laying around and I don't have the space for the useless junk I have now!

 

G'day Jeff, I think the main objective is to re-centre (sorry, re-center) the wheel in the wheel arch after adding as much caster as possible, if I was designing my own engine mounts as well I'd also try to push the engine backward in relation to the k-frame, at least back to its original position (or further if possible) to improve the CG.

 

Plus, since Heath has already setup his tunnel / gearbox x-member / shifter location, he wouldn't want to move the engine now anyway?

[Heath]

I will just make the engine mounts to reposition the motor to the original location. I sell 3D printers and it's an invaluable tool for product design, but building cars I honestly don't have that many applications for it - would be different if you were constantly making brake brackets and interior parts to LHD=>RHD conversions and stuff.

 

Jeff it's nothing too scientific; it's just a slight correction (or extension) of wheelbase, a bit more clearance on the firewall and it's a small step that won't hurt anything. I was going to solid mount the front end anyway, so this seems a better way to do it and I don't mind a bit more effort.

Edited by Heath, 18 July 2015 - 10:51 AM.

[Heath]

Talked myself out of IRS so thought I'd start bracing up the chassis rail/rear lower arm region. Nothing groundbreaking here, and I opted to do it pretty conservatively so that I don't sacrifice rear passenger footwell. Looking at it, I think it will actually add quite a bit of structure & support for the bracket although it's a lot less significant than putting the box the whole way through the floor obviously.
 
Got a 1250mm length of of 75x50x2mm, then cut out all of the material that wouldn't contribute to the structure.

 
Bit of on-and-off test fitting naturally. Achieved an acceptable fit for a MIG weld.

 
Filled the gaps.

 
Finished up nicely. 

 
Not sure if the car will go on a rotisserie or not at this stage, so I'll hold off on welding them in for the time being.